Dennis Mattingly really is trying to raise money for a stem cell operation to battle a deadly bone cancer. But anyone who calls you up saying so, and throws in a pitch for a donation, is a liar.

Anchorage police were alerted to a scam exploiting Mattingly's condition this week after an unlucky con artist called the local law firm that employs Mattingly's wife, Sandy, while soliciting donations for what the caller called the "Dennis Mattingly Cancer Fund."

"The receptionist says, 'Oh, geez, aren't you lucky. Dennis' wife works here.' And by the time they got to the phone it was hung up," said Dennis Mattingly, founder and general manager of the Anchorage Bucs baseball team. "I just think it's pathetic. It's a shame, but it happens all over the country."

Though Mattingly is trying to raise money, nobody is making unsolicited phone calls on his behalf, he said.

It's unclear how extensive the scam is, but it's not unheard of for scammers to peruse local media reports to find a particularly "heart-plucking story" that they can exploit, police Lt. Dave Parker said.

"They'll find some story that tugs at the heartstrings and then they go, 'OK, now we can make some money on this, and this is how we'll do it,' " Parker said. "Well, of course that money's spirited out of the country or wherever it's going, and that makes the law enforcement end of things very, very difficult."

Mattingly, 59, was diagnosed in 2000 with multiple myeloma, a deadly cancer that makes bones brittle and debilitates the immune system. Life expectancy with the disease is about five years, but in 2005 Mattingly underwent a successful stem-cell transplant that gave him additional time. There is no cure for multiple myeloma, but this operation could extend his life by up to 10 more years, he said.

Though he and his wife have insurance, the policy has a $250,000 cap for transplants and about $90,000 is all that's left from the 2005 procedure. With the Dec. 1 payment deadline for this operation fast approaching, Mattingly says he's optimistic he will be able to pull together the additional $127,000 needed to cover his treatment, scheduled to begin Dec. 9 at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

"We've come a long ways. We've got a ways to go yet, but we still got some time," Mattingly said. "I'm confident we'll get it together by then, you know, one way or the other."

The weeks-long treatment will include extensive testing and a massive dose of chemotherapy to whittle away at the cancer before the transplant. After he receives his own stem cells -- he left some in storage the last time around -- it could be weeks longer before he's able to come home.

"I've got a positive attitude," he said. "We think it's going to work and we're going to go down there and get it done and come home."

Though they won't call to ask, Mattingly's family is accepting donations, which can be deposited at the First National Bank of Alaska, Alaska USA Federal Credit Union or dropped off at the Anchorage Bucs office.

Find James Halpin online at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call him at 257-4589.

FUNDRAISERS FOR DENNIS MATTINGLY: A "Spaghetti Feed to Save a Life" is being held Saturday from 5-9 p.m. at Lake Otis Elementary School. Recommended donation is $20 for adults and $5 for children.

"Bowl for a Cause" Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. at Center Bowl in Spenard. Recommended donation is $25 per person.

For more information, contact Sandy at 632-5887 or Rhonda at 382-2169.

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